Addiction to painkillers is often overlooked when talking about drug addiction. Prescription drugs are normally
the main culprit but much pain medication is just as problematic as it is
available over the counter with little or none confirmation from GPs. Just
because these drugs are easy to acquire does not mean that they aren’t
addictive. Instead, it means that it is even easier for people to develop a physical
and psychological addiction to their painkillers as the following trainee
dental nurse’s story shows.
A 29 year old trainee dental nurse has recently pleaded guilty of
forging prescriptions and stealing from pharmacies throughout the county of
Gwet in South-East Wales over a period of six months to fund her codeine
addiction. In total she stole around 23 prescription forms from the workplace
which were then forged and fulfilled at different pharmacies.
Her first theft was just eleven days after she started work at the
dental practice where she worked. She began taking codeine when she began to
suffer from chronic migraines and used the drug to help alleviate her problem.
Her defence stated that the ‘medication she was on has had a significant effect
on her rational thinking’, ‘that she shows a significant degree of remorse’ and
has since had her addiction to codeine fully addressed.
Her prosecutor stated during her trial that she had ‘been dependent on
the dihydrocodeine pain killers and said she was not in her right frame of
mind’ but that there was ‘some planning involved in the offences as she forged
the names in her own name, her maiden name, mother, sister, next door
neighbour, her friends and a variety of addresses and members of the public who
were registered as patients where she worked’.
Codeine in particular, is
easy to become addicted to due to the feel good side effects of the drug such
as elation or sleepiness. The drug is safe to take under medical instructions
but taking large or frequent doses can cause severe side effects including
nausea, constipation, breathing problems and seizures. Codeine is particularly
dangerous when combined with alcohol or other drugs and can even result in
death.
Common signs of codeine addiction include..
·
The user becoming aggressive or defensive when confronted about their
painkiller use.
·
The user experiencing nausea, constipation, breathing problems or/and
seizures.
·
The user becoming secretive or embarrassed about their use of the
painkiller.
If these common signs seem familiar then you could be looking at someone
or be someone with a genuinely dangerous addiction.
Contact Rehab Recovery for free help and
advice on 0800 088 66 86 today, or send us a message requesting a call back and
we’ll give you a discreet ring for a chat about your concerns.
For the full story of the dental nurse, please see the SouthWales Argus .
